Robison, Wills sing a "Beautiful Lie"

Saturday, April 27, 2019 – Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis join forces yet again for their fourth duets album, "Beautiful Lie," dropping June 21 on Robison's The Next Waltz label.

The album's first single, "Nobody's Perfect," will be released on May 10, followed by a tour commencing on May 19.

Produced by Robison at the Bunker, his all-analog studio in Lockhart, Texas, outside of Austin, the release finds the husband-and-wife team recording originals and a few covers. The latter includes the two-stepping country song, Ernest Tubb's "One Dime at a Time." The title tune was plucked from the Amazing Rhythm Aces' 1975 debut album. The sad ballad, "Lost My Best," is by Uncle Walt's Band veteran David Ball. Grammy nominee Adam Wright (Alan Jackson, Lee Ann Womack) contributed three tracks, one written with his wife, Shannon. Robison's four contributions include the single and a co-write with Jack Ingram titled "Astrodome."

CD reviews for Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis

Just like Gram and Emmylou, Johnny and June, Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison have secured a perfect partnership. Touching on topics sown from forlorn circumstance, the duo's second album melds a tender touch with down home designs. Choice covers affirm a commitment to craft, with fiddles, mandolin, harp and harmonies, bringing a low-lit ambience, which serves to elevate the charm. Both artists are, of course, successful on their own, but taken in tandem, they »»»

With Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell's new disc and tour, and Faith and Tim's Soul2Soul sojourn still on the road, four months into 2013, and it's already been one hell of a year for country duets. That said, don't call the latest release from Kelly Willis and husband Bruce Robison merely the icing on the cake. Considering the pair - despite being married for years - seldom record together, they've made their new album a 13-song, multi-course feast. »»»

Remember country's leading couple, Tim and Faith, singing the heartrending "Angry All the Time"? Bruce Robison wrote that song, and it was Texas country's leading couple, Robison and wife Kelly Willis, who first recorded it. Now after five years of performing holiday concerts around Texas, they've released a seven-song holiday EP. It's a departure from the relatively traditional-sounding country music of their individual releases.
Willis, in particular, gets to stretch out quite a bit, clearly »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Stapleton shows his traditional roots –
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Concert Review: Jinks wins over fans, especially new ones –
Cody Jinks asked the crowd a bit into his show how many had never seen him before. It seemed like Jinks has made a lot of musical inroads into the public's consciousness because roughly three quarters of the audience raised their hands to show that this was their first time.
That probably made Jinks feel pretty darn good about how life has been... »»»

Eleven years ago, Kelly stepped away from music. She had just finished touring on 2007's exquisite "Translated From Love" and felt the angst of being a travelling musician with family at home. At that point, Willis and her husband, musician/producer Bruce Robison,... »»»

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With "Threads," Sheryl Crow gets the all-star-guest treatment on what she says is her swang song, with each song featuring a favorite fellow artist. She seems a little too young for this kind of tribute. Nevertheless, »»»

Midland is more magicians than musicians. When the trio came out with their omnipresent 2017 single "Drinkin' Problem," they pulled off their first trick: a brand-new band to radio who sounded like old friends. Their sound and their look (matador »»»

It's been 17 years since we've had a new album from Tanya Tucker, so it's a real pleasure to hear her clear throaty vocals deliver these songs with her characteristic raw emotion. Tucker knows how to get into a song and make it her own »»»

Eilen Jewell's "Gypsy" opens with the ominous, mysterious "Beat the Drum," which is a swampy - and yes, gypsy - song of warning about some impending doom or other. It plays out like a softer type of vintage... »»»

Rodney Crowell is a rare breed of a country songwriter. Yes, he knows how to write traditional country songs; it's just he's also a deep thinker, which requires extra effort on the part of the listener to appreciate them fully. »»»

Larry Sparks was still a teenager when Ralph Stanley chose him to replace his brother Carter Stanley as guitarist and lead singer in the Clinch Mountain Boys in the wake of Carter's passing in December 1966. »»»